I was on my way home from a NGO MR last week and had to pass thru DFW where my UA flight left me off and I had to switch terminals to get an AA flight.
After checking in with their electronic "self-serve" kiosk, I get a boarding pass with SSSS on it. I go to wait in the 'special passenger' dock, get my up close and personal treatment and am ready to go. Just when I thought all the fun and games were over I am informed that my carry-on caused an alarm to go off, so every article is taken out one by one and carefully examined. I've got a variety of souvenirs, some leftover foodstuffs I had taken with me in case of emergency (read expensive food) in Japan, my camera with extra batteries, etc. Several articles are indivdually re-sent thru the machine. Anyhow nothing shows up so I'm free to go, EXCEPT, now the guy has my driver's license out of my wallet (he took it out, not me) and is making out a detailed report with all my biographical data.
An interesting detail of all of this is that in that same day I passed thru security two times, in NGO and SFO, with the exact same contents and no alarm went off. What I am wondering now is if I have been deemed 'worthy' to be included in a national database for suspicious characters and if I'll be treated to special consideration every time I fly in the coming months. Does the hiccup of the machine in DFW portend more than the usual grief for me in the future? Any thoughts or comments?